Danica Patrick races for history

By Mike Downey, Special to CNN

Updated 2:28 PM ET, Sun February 24, 2013

Photos: Female driver Danica Patrick38 photos

Danica Patrick through the years – Danica Patrick has made racing history, becoming the first woman in the history of NASCAR to win the pole for any race. Here, Patrick sits in her car during practice for the AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway in 2012 in Avondale, Arizona. This slide show looks back at Patrick's exciting career through the years.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick sits in her car during the Open Test in 2005 in Phoenix.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick speaks with her crew during practice for the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in 2005 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

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Danica Patrick through the years – From left: Vitor Meira, Patrick and Tony Kanaan pose for a photograph in 2005 in Times Square.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick looks on during Pole Day Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 in 2005.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick waits during practice for the Bombardier Learjet 500 in 2005 in Fort Worth, Texas.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick rounds the track during practice for the Bombardier Learjet 500 in 2005.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick is seen driving a Ferrari during the previews to the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in 2005 in Indianapolis.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Actor Patrick Dempsey and Danica Patrick make their presentation at the 13th Annual ESPY Awards at the Kodak Theatre in 2005 in Hollywood.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick poses for a photograph during a media day in 2006 in Homestead, Florida.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick walks the runway during a Marie Claire and Tissot fall fashion preview show at the Fashion Show Mall in 2006 in Las Vegas.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick drives during practice for the Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix in 2005 in Sonoma, California.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick prepares to get in her car during practice for the SunTrust Indy Challenge in 2007 in Richmond, Virginia.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick prepares during practice for the Bombardier Learjet 550k in 2007 in Fort Worth, Texas.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick waits to get in her car during practice for the SunTrust Indy Challenge in 2007 in Richmond, Virginia.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Tony Kanaan, right, and Patrick celebrate after placing first and second in the Detroit Indy Grand Prix in 2007 in Detroit.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick is seen during practice for the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 in 2008 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick gets ready for practice for the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County in 2008 in California.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick walks the runway at the 10th Annual Gridiron Glamour Show in 2008 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick poses with the trophy after winning the Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 Mile in 2008 in Motegi, Japan.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick poses for a portrait during media day at Barber Motorsports Park in 2009 in Leeds, Alabama.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick waits during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 in 2009.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick in car No. 7 leads a group during the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 in 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

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Danica Patrick through the years – A detail shot of Patrick's shoes on the grid before the New England 200 in 2010 in Loudon, New Hampshire.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick loses control of her car during the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 in 2010.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick signs autographs during qualifying for the CARFAX 250 in 2010 in Brooklyn, Michigan.

Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick attends an Auto Club Speedway and Tissot's event in 2010 in Hollywood.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick pits during the Dollar General 300 in 2010 in Concord, North Carolina.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick poses for a photograph during a media day at Daytona International Speedway in 2011 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick waits in the rain while her car is covered during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 in 2011.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick speaks to a crew member in the garage at Daytona International Speedway in 2012.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick gets out of her car after qualifying for the Daytona 500 in 2012.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick sits in her car in the garage area during practice for the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 in 2012 in Darlington, South Carolina.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick drives during practice for the History 300 in 2012 in Concord, North Carolina.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick drives as flames shoot from the back of her car after an incident in the AdvoCare 500 in 2012 in Avondale, Arizona.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick applies make-up before an interview during the 2013 NASCAR media day at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, February 14, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Florida.

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Danica Patrick through the years – Patrick speaks to the media after qualifying for the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 17, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Florida.

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Story highlights

No woman has ever won the Daytona 500

Danica Patrick holds the pole position for Sunday's race

Mike Downey says a win for Danica Patrick would be "giant checkered flag for womankind"

Downey: "I will be pulling for Patrick"

"Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life" (1913) is a 13-minute silent movie. In it, Oldfield, the most famous auto racer of his day, races to rescue a damsel in distress whom a mustache-twirling villain has chained to a railroad track.

A hundred years later, Danica Patrick, the most famous auto racer of HER day, will be on a track Sunday in the race of HER life. Very vulnerable, very motivated, she will be a hero to many in the audience and a villain to some.

Go, Danni.

Daytona 500s have been running since 1959. They have been won by Richard Petty and his dad, by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his dad, by Davey Allison and his dad, by the brothers Waltrip, by a 50-year-old, by a 20-year-old and by a whole lot of fine gents down South.

Mike Downey

Just ain't never been won by no woman.

I will be pulling for Patrick, now that she holds the pole position for Sunday's race, for this reason and for no other -- just because it would be something unique. A surge forward. A giant checkered flag for womankind.

Danica Patrick: 'Gender doesn't matter'

Just Watched

Racing pioneer's advice for Danica

I haven't personally seen one cross a finish line first since Lindsay Lohan drove a VW Beetle to victory in that movie "Herbie: Fully Loaded."

Excuse me, then, for being of the opinion that Danica Patrick winning the Daytona 500 would be a pretty cool thing. It would be up there with other unlikely things I never expected to see in my lifetime, like Ben Affleck maybe beating Steven Spielberg for an Oscar.

Now, note that I didn't call this person the most distinguished driver of her day. Or the best in any way. (Except at posing in a bikini.)

I have a high regard for the men of this profession, many of whom might find Patrick's famous face in their rear-view mirrors Sunday on their cannonball run toward Victory Lane. It wouldn't shock me a bit if her green No. 10 Chevrolet SS ended up in the back of the pack. Or racked or wrecked. Or up on some tow truck's hook. Or overheating under the hood like a '57 Bel Air.

Photos: Female firsts in sports 14 photos

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Female firsts in sports – Danica Patrick on February 17 became the first woman to win the pole position for the Daytona 500, considered the Super Bowl of NASCAR. Look back at other milestones for women who have been breaking barriers in sports.

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Female firsts in sports – University of New Mexico kicker Katie Hnida, No. 2, attempts an extra point against UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 25, 2002, becoming the first woman to play in a Division I-A football game. The kick was blocked, but she later became the first woman to score points in college football's top division.

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Female firsts in sports – Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks records the first slam dunk in women's professional basketball during a game against the Miami Sol on July 30, 2002, in Los Angeles.

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Female firsts in sports – Pitcher Ila Borders of the Duluth Dukes became the first woman to win a men's pro baseball game on July 24, 1998, against the Sioux Falls Canaries in Duluth, Minnesota. She was also the first woman to earn a college baseball scholarship.

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Female firsts in sports – Jockey Julie Krone rides Colonial Affair across the finish line to win the Belmont Stakes on June 5, 1993. She was the first woman to win a Triple Crown race.

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Female firsts in sports – Goalie Manon Rheaume of the Tampa Bay Lightning defends the net during an NHL preseason game against the St. Louis Blues in Tampa on September 23, 1992. She was the first female to play in an NHL game.

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Female firsts in sports – Nancy Lieberman poses for a portrait in the 1990s while playing for the women's U.S. national basketball team. In June 1986, she became the first woman to play men's professional basketball with her United States Basketball League debut in Springfield, Massachusetts.

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Female firsts in sports – Janet Guthrie stands in front of her car before the Winston Cup Daytona 500 race on February 20, 1977. Later that year she became the first woman to drive in the Indy 500.

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Female firsts in sports – Billie Jean King holds up her trophy after defeating Bobby Riggs during the Battle of the Sexes tennis match in Houston on September 20, 1973. She became the first woman to beat a man in a professional tennis match.

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Female firsts in sports – Jockey Diane Crump exercises her horse in 1968. She became the first female jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby on May 2, 1970.

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Female firsts in sports – Italian race car driver Maria Teresa de Filippis is seen at the wheel of a Maserati in 1958. She was the first woman to compete in a Formula One race.

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Female firsts in sports – Babe Didrikson Zaharias putts in circa 1945. She became the first female to play on the men's PGA Tour in the Los Angeles Open on January 7, 1938. She was also an Olympic gold medalist in track and field.

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Female firsts in sports – Betty Robinson, left, wins the women's 100-meter final during the Olympic Games in Amsterdam on July 31, 1928. It was the first time the Olympics included athletic events for women, making her the first woman to win gold.

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Female firsts in sports – Gertrude Ederle wades into the water on her way to becoming the first woman to swim the English Channel, which she did in 14 hours and 31 minutes, breaking the previous men's record.

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EXPAND GALLERY

Pits happen.

If things do go wrong, that's OK. They do to everybody, male or female. Cars break down. Drivers make mistakes. Jerks come out of nowhere and cut you off. Hey, consider yourself lucky these days if you go for a drive and don't end up waiting for deep-voiced Dennis Haysbert and his insurance folks from Allstate.

Patrick's life will be totally fine even if she doesn't win. She makes a ton of money. She has a mean, green publicity machine. She even has a new boyfriend. (A fellow driver, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) She still has her Go Daddy! ads, although, to be perfectly frank with you, I still have no clue to this day what it is Go Daddy! is supposed to do for you.

She is resented by some for her fame.

"What has she ever won?" is a common refrain.

Hey, this woman placed third in the 2009 Indianapolis 500. That is not nothing. Do you know what the great Barney Oldfield's best finish was in an Indy 500? Fifth. He still ended up in movies and doing endorsements and becoming the most famous car racer of his time. That's show biz.

Patrick has come a long way since being a high school cheerleader in Rockton, Illinois, during her Fast Times at Hononegah High teens. She drove go-karts. She had a need for speed. She liked to get behind the wheel of anything with wheels.

What else would you expect of someone born in Beloit, Wisconsin, where a man (Arthur P. Warner) supposedly invented the first automobile speedometer? Or from a woman who was brought up in an Illinois county called Winnebago. I mean, some girls are born to be debutantes or doctors. Danica Patrick was born to be first in line at the DMV.

She is not a true pioneer. I mean, we are not talking Amelia Earhart here.

Odette Siko and Marguerite Mareuse, a couple of Frenchwomen, drove a Bugatti in the 24 Hours of LeMans endurance race of 1932. They took seventh place.

(I can confirm neither did a sexy ad for a "Go Pere!" website.)

Sarah Fisher has driven in the Indy 500 nine times, Lyn St. James seven times.

I once covered a Riverside, California, race where a Ford Mustang driven by St. James was going 160 mph when it swerved into a wall and burst into flames, while a rival car went airborne. St. James was bruised and battered, but limped away to race another day.

Female drivers are tough, man. Shirley Muldowney's nitro-fuel dragster once had a front tire blow in Montreal and she broke both legs when it crashed. If you go to Shirley's website, the autographed items you can purchase include her fire suits.

It isn't as if Daytona hasn't seen any estrogen along with all that testosterone. (No, these are not new products from Pennzoil.) As far back as 1977, a true trailblazer, Janet Guthrie, drove in the 500. She finished ahead of Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Ricky Rudd, Salt Walther, Richard Petty -- not bad.

So she never won it. Big flamin' deal.

You think it's easy to race WITH the best, much less beat them, hey, let's see you try it.

Daytona 500s attract the best drivers in the business. It is the Super Bowl of its sport. It has given its fans countless thrills, ever since Lee Petty (daddy of Richard) sped to the checkered flag in his Olds simultaneously with Johnny Beauchamp's T-Bird in a photo finish that required three days to sort out.

(Petty won and was handed a nice $19,000, if you'll pardon the expression, purse.)

Oh, the great competitors we have seen, from "Fireball" Roberts to "Tiny" Lund, from the coincidental Yarborough (Cale) vs. Yarbrough (LeeRoy) clash of 1968, from the climactic spinout of '76 when Pearson was able to get his Mercury to crawl and sputter across the finish line.

What a blast it was in 1989 to see Darrell Waltrip finally win at Daytona on his 17th try -- and on fumes, with a fuel tank that was very definitely on E.

What a pleasure to see the superpopular, bizarrely doomed Dale Earnhardt take the checkered flag there in '98 after two decades of being a Daytona also-ran. To win on the same track where in 2001 he would die. On the same track where in 2004 the same race would be won by his son.